by 2011 Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitchers Rankings Outlook: When drafting starting pitching you always need your ace, a few solid pitchers, and of course, those upside guys on your team. When it comes to having an ace you cannot do any better than Roy Halladay. He was a stud a season ago and we expect more of the same this year. The downside of getting Halladay is the fact you might have to spend an early second or even a first round pick to get him.
We also really like King Felix who will almost certainly improve on his 13 win total. One pitcher that does not get the respect he deserves is Adam Wainwright, he is an elite pitcher and draft him with the confidence that he is. Pitchers like Tommy Hanson have all the potential to be an elite pitcher and you can drafted much later than any of the true studs.
Of course the studs and solid pitchers are the easy ones to draft so here is a quick tip when drafting a pitcher in the later rounds. We typically like pitchers that at least average one strikeout per inning. The less balls in play, the more good stats they will put up.
Draft-Day Advice: Remember to have a few sleeper pitchers in mind for the end of your draft. A guy like Daniel Hudson is poised for breakout year or if a guy like Bud Norris works out with your last round pick it could be the difference between winning and losing.
The following are our 2011 Fantasy Baseball Rankings, which are based on standard 5×5 scoring and take into account projected stats as well as upside and risk. Offensive categories include BA, HRs, Runs, RBIs, and SBs. Pitching categories are Wins, ERA, WHIP, Ks, and Saves. Although several players are eligible at multiple positions, they are listed at the position that they will most likely play the most in 2011. All leagues have different position eligibility requirements so be sure to check your settings before draft day.
2011 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: C | 1B | 2B | SS | 3B | OF | SP | RP | 
Draft Day Cheatsheet
| Tier | Rank | Player | Tm | IP | W | K | BB | ERA | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Roy Halladay | PHI | 250.2 | 21 | 219 | 30 | 2.44 | 1.04 |
| 1 | 2 | Felix Hernandez | SEA | 249.2 | 13 | 232 | 70 | 2.27 | 1.06 |
| 1 | 3 | Tim Lincecum | SF | 212.1 | 16 | 231 | 76 | 3.43 | 1.27 |
| 2 | 4 | Jon Lester | BOS | 208 | 19 | 225 | 83 | 3.25 | 1.2 |
| 2 | 5 | David Price | TB | 208.2 | 19 | 188 | 79 | 2.72 | 1.19 |
| 2 | 6 | Clayton Kershaw | LA | 204.1 | 13 | 212 | 81 | 2.91 | 1.18 |
| 2 | 7 | CC Sabathia | NYY | 237.2 | 21 | 197 | 74 | 3.18 | 1.19 |
| 2 | 8 | Cliff Lee | PHI | 212.1 | 12 | 185 | 18 | 3.18 | 1 |
| 3 | 9 | Justin Verlander | DET | 224.1 | 18 | 219 | 71 | 3.37 | 1.16 |
| 3 | 10 | Josh Johnson | FLA | 183.2 | 11 | 186 | 48 | 2.3 | 1.11 |
| 3 | 11 | Mat Latos | SD | 184.2 | 14 | 189 | 50 | 2.92 | 1.08 |
| 3 | 12 | Tommy Hanson | ATL | 202.2 | 10 | 173 | 56 | 3.33 | 1.17 |
| 3 | 13 | Ubaldo Jimenez | COL | 221.2 | 19 | 214 | 92 | 2.88 | 1.15 |
| 3 | 14 | Francisco Liriano | MIN | 191.2 | 14 | 201 | 58 | 3.62 | 1.26 |
| 4 | 15 | Zack Greinke | MLW | 220 | 10 | 181 | 55 | 4.17 | 1.25 |
| 4 | 16 | Yovani Gallardo | MLW | 185 | 14 | 200 | 75 | 3.84 | 1.37 |
| 4 | 17 | Chris Carpenter | STL | 235 | 16 | 179 | 63 | 3.22 | 1.18 |
| 4 | 18 | Cole Hamels | PHI | 208.2 | 12 | 211 | 61 | 3.06 | 1.18 |
| 4 | 19 | Brett Anderson | OAK | 112.1 | 7 | 75 | 22 | 2.8 | 1.19 |
| 5 | 20 | Jered Weaver | ANA | 224.1 | 13 | 233 | 54 | 3.01 | 1.07 |
| 5 | 21 | Max Scherzer | DET | 195.2 | 12 | 184 | 70 | 3.5 | 1.25 |
| 5 | 22 | Dan Haren | ANA | 235 | 12 | 216 | 54 | 3.91 | 1.27 |
| 6 | 23 | Matt Cain | SF | 223.1 | 13 | 177 | 61 | 3.14 | 1.08 |
| 6 | 24 | Jeremy Hellickson | TB | 36.1 | 4 | 33 | 8 | 3.47 | 1.1 |
| 6 | 25 | Daniel Hudson | ARZ | 95.1 | 8 | 84 | 27 | 2.45 | 1 |
| 6 | 26 | Jonathan Sanchez | SF | 193.1 | 13 | 205 | 96 | 3.07 | 1.23 |
| 6 | 27 | Ricky Nolasco | FLA | 157.2 | 14 | 147 | 33 | 4.51 | 1.28 |
| 6 | 28 | Gio Gonzalez | OAK | 200.2 | 15 | 171 | 92 | 3.23 | 1.31 |
| 7 | 29 | Roy Oswalt | PHI | 211.2 | 13 | 193 | 55 | 2.76 | 1.03 |
| 7 | 30 | Chad Billingsley | LA | 191.2 | 12 | 171 | 69 | 3.57 | 1.28 |
| 7 | 31 | Clay Buchholz | BOS | 173.2 | 17 | 120 | 67 | 2.33 | 1.2 |
| 7 | 32 | John Danks | CWS | 213 | 15 | 162 | 70 | 3.72 | 1.22 |
| 7 | 33 | Brett Myers | HOU | 223.2 | 14 | 180 | 66 | 3.14 | 1.24 |
| 7 | 34 | Wandy Rodriguez | HOU | 195 | 11 | 178 | 68 | 3.6 | 1.29 |
| 8 | 35 | Jaime Garcia | STL | 163.1 | 13 | 132 | 64 | 2.7 | 1.32 |
| 8 | 36 | C.J. Wilson | TEX | 204 | 15 | 170 | 93 | 3.35 | 1.25 |
| 8 | 37 | Matt Garza | CHC | 204.2 | 15 | 150 | 63 | 3.91 | 1.25 |
| 8 | 38 | Colby Lewis | TEX | 201 | 12 | 196 | 65 | 3.72 | 1.19 |
| 9 | 39 | Edinson Volquez | CIN | 62.2 | 4 | 67 | 35 | 4.31 | 1.5 |
| 9 | 40 | Phil Hughes | NYY | 176.1 | 18 | 146 | 58 | 4.19 | 1.25 |
| 9 | 41 | Ricky Romero | TOR | 210 | 14 | 174 | 82 | 3.73 | 1.29 |
| 9 | 42 | Bud Norris | HOU | 153.2 | 9 | 158 | 77 | 4.92 | 1.48 |
| 9 | 43 | Brian Matusz | BAL | 175.2 | 10 | 143 | 63 | 4.3 | 1.34 |
| 9 | 44 | Madison Bumgarner | SF | 111 | 7 | 86 | 26 | 3 | 1.31 |
If you have any questions for our fantasy experts, or you’re ready to start talking some baseball, sign up to join our free Fantasy Sports Forum.
